Article by ICG member Jay Zaltzman
I’m excited to announce the launch of my video series “From Insight to Impact” – conversations with leaders in marketing, strategy, and research on how to ensure research delivers meaningful business value to client companies.
My first guest was James Forr, Head of Insights at Olson Zaltman, the firm founded by Dr. Gerald Zaltman (Harvard Business School) and Dr. Jerry Olson (Penn State University). I asked James how we can provide more value to clients, especially in the age of AI. Two of his points stood out:
- Ask clients better questions
- Ask research participants better questions
On the client side, James said “it’s our job many times to try to help clients think about their problems a little bit more deeply. Sometimes the question that you as a client want to answer is not necessarily the question that you should ask.”
He gave an example where a client was looking to reverse a decline in sales of their breakfast cereal. They originally wanted to conduct research to understand their brand better, but James and his team suggested learning more about the context in which the brand plays, specifically, breakfast. The client knew that breakfast was an important bonding time for mother and child, so they designed research to learn more about that relationship. They found there were developmental steps children go through, and moms frequently would discover the child went to the next step (e.g., made a friend independently) over breakfast. Those insights helped the client create highly effective marketing.
Beyond reframing client questions, James also emphasized listening more deeply to participants. He gave an example of a project where a couple consumers said that it’s important to eat healthy “these days.” While it would be easy to skip over the mention of “these days,” James thought there was something behind that. Subsequent probing found that people had concerns about “big food” and “big pharma” – concerns that were shaping consumer behavior in new ways.
AI can process vast amounts of data, but it doesn’t catch those subtle moments. Human researchers add value when we slow down, notice unexpected comments, and follow up. I’m reminded of an experience I had facilitating a board strategy session. One board member said something that made everyone else laugh uncomfortably. I continued on, because I had a lot to cover. But then I caught it and circled back. That issue turned out to be the crux of the problem of how the organization saw itself and the basis for how it would move forward. It can be difficult to note these kinds of statements because we tend to have packed discussion guides. But it’s worth making that extra effort!
You can view the full interview with James here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7tIEF546tAE